My first attempt at home brewing

[Bradyams]

I recently acquired a very cheap home brewing kit, and just got done trying my first batch.

The kit is called Mr. Beer (www.mrbeer.com), and is very cheap like I said before. But, I always thought brewing my own beer could be fun, but this way I can try it out for cheap in case I find out I don't like doing it. So the kit came with everything I needed to brew ~260 oz. of a beer called West Coast Pale Ale. Last Sunday it began fermenting, and was supposed to ferment for a minimum of seven days. About 5 days into it it appeared the fermenting was done, but I waited anyway.

Yesterday I bottled the beer. Now it usually needs to stay in bottles for ~7 days to carbonate. The instructions say you should know when the beer is ready if the bottles are rock hard (if you use plastic bottles). I filled up four 2 liter bottles, and had a little left over so I filled up a 32 oz. Gatorade bottle. This morning the Gatorade bottle was about ready to burst so I figured it might be done, and I was anxious to try it anyway.

I put it in the fridge, and let it cool down, and now I'm currently trying the first glass. The first thing I noticed is that it's very hazy, and not clear at all. I think this may be because it's not filtered beer, but I'm not sure. I was actually surprised at the taste. I haven't had many pale ale's before so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I thought it tasted pretty good. It has a kinda bitterish after taste, but not too much. It also tastes a bit like flat beer, so it probably was not fully carbonated, even though the bottle was on the verge of blowing up. So I think it turned out okay, and I think the remaining four 2 liter bottles should taste even better.

I also ordered some more recipes off the Mr. Beer website to make some more.

So, does anyone here do actual home-brewing? I know there are a lot of beer snobs in OOT, and I thought maybe someone could point in the right direction of doing some inexpensive real home-brewing.

[jakethebake]

I used to brew a batch a month. Haven't had time in awhile. These Mr. Beer things are good to start, but you'll soon move past that to brewing your own recipes if you enjoy it. I used to make special batches for all kinds of occasions and print off special labels and give it as gifts too.

Jake's Blackberry Stout was some goot [censored]. And that fruit sugar makes it strong as [censored].

[RunDownHouse]

You surprise me once again, Jake.

Now that I've finished building my newest kegerator, I'm looking to get into homebrewing once my finances settle down a bit. I figure I'll start with kits to get my feet wet, but move as quickly as possible beyond them. Any other reviews of kits, or what to lok for in a kit, would be appreciated. Also, any info on homebrewing that is hard to find elsewhere. For example, my damn kitchen is really small. Not only does this mean that I don't have a ton of room for pots and whatnot while actually brewing, I don't exactly have a ton of room for the stuff to sit around and ferment. How much of a footprint does a typical batch of beer have? I'm assuming that kegging my beer will take less room than having a hundred bottles sitting around.

[SomethingClever]

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Now that I've finished building my newest kegerator...

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My damn kitchen is really small.

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Haha... very nice.

[benfranklin]

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I figure I'll start with kits to get my feet wet, but move as quickly as possible beyond them. Any other reviews of kits, or what to lok for in a kit, would be appreciated. Also, any info on homebrewing that is hard to find elsewhere. For example, my damn kitchen is really small. Not only does this mean that I don't have a ton of room for pots and whatnot while actually brewing, I don't exactly have a ton of room for the stuff to sit around and ferment. How much of a footprint does a typical batch of beer have? I'm assuming that kegging my beer will take less room than having a hundred bottles sitting around.

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If by kits you mean something like Mr. Beer, I'd recommend going beyond that right from the start. You need a basic equipment set-up, like here. You should be able to get started with something similar for about $50 at any homebrew store.

Space required depends on how many batches (yes, I spelled that right) you have going at a time. The initial process is like making soup. You just need a big stock pot on the stove. That then goes into a 5-gal. pail, which needs to sit for a couple weeks in a cool place. Then you bottle it. You'll get about two cases of beer, which have to sit for at least 2-3 weeks (I recommend 4-6). Soon as you bottle it, you can start another batch.

A standard batch is 5 gallons. There are mini-keg systems, but I have not looked into those. I just keep all my old Sam Adams bottles. It's doing my bit for recycling.

[fluxrad]

ben,

Is it possible to brew in an apartment? I live on the fifth floor and I'd love to start brewing myself, but I'm worried that there will either be

A. Too much mess
B. Crappy beer due to the lack of a "cool place." How cool is cool?

Any thoughts?

[RunDownHouse]

Cool is under 70. About 62-65 should be fine for ales. You won't be able to do lagers without a dedicated fridge. As far as brewing in an apartment goes, it can be done fairly easily. If you have the capacity to boil 6-6.5 gallons of water, a place to put the fermenter, and a place to store bottles, you're good to go.

[nolanfan34]

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ben,

Is it possible to brew in an apartment? I live on the fifth floor and I'd love to start brewing myself, but I'm worried that there will either be

A. Too much mess
B. Crappy beer due to the lack of a "cool place." How cool is cool?

Any thoughts?

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I used to do all of my brewing when we lived in an apartment. If you have a guest bathroom, that's a good place for the fermenting. Set the pail or carboy on a folding chair in the bathtub. This also give you some insurance if you screw something up and the top blows off. The temp in there should be good for ales.

I did all of my brewing on the kitchen stove. It does make a bit of a mess, but you just have to be good about cleaning it up right away - spilled wort = super sticky.

[Al P]

A friend of mine home brewed while we were in college. It was cheaper than regular beer, way more potent, and definitely more tasty.

He used glass bottles though, I'd suggest you look into getting two cases of them.

[Shajen]

Never done it, but I hear of good things on this forum:

might wanna check it out.